Ariana Grande has filed a lawsuit against unnamed hackers she accuses of stealing and leaking her private material – including unreleased songs, video footage, and photos – over several years.
The singer filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles court this week, naming the defendants as "John Does" because their identities are not yet known.
According to court documents, Grande has had to re-record songs and change aspects of her creative process because of the leaks.
Her legal team is seeking to uncover who is behind the cyberattacks.
Context
The lawsuit claims hackers gained access to accounts belonging to people in Ariana Grande's professional circle through methods such as account breaches and phishing scams.
Court documents seen by The New York Times allege stolen material was later shared online, including through social media platforms, and sold in batches via third-party payment services including PayPal and Cash App.
The complaint claims some content was also listed for sale from multiple anonymous accounts on the dark web for "significant sums of money".
The lawsuit outlines multiple alleged incidents spanning several years.
Grande's lawyers claim cybercriminals first hacked into a photographer's Dropbox account in 2019, gaining access to unreleased photos connected to the singer.
In 2020, a producer working with Grande was targeted in another alleged breach, with hackers obtaining unreleased recordings, demos and footage from studio sessions.
The lawsuit claims the highest-volume leak led to the theft of 45 unreleased songs in 2023.
Then in 2024, hackers allegedly impersonated a photographer to obtain private images.
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The lawsuit says the alleged leaks have affected Grande's career, forcing her team to spend significant time and money investigating breaches, removing stolen material, and taking steps to protect future releases.
Her lawyers argued the alleged hacking caused "substantial and irreparable harm" to the singer's privacy and professional work.
"This malicious invasion of Ms. Grande's privacy and disruption of her career have caused her substantial and irreparable harm," the complaint said.
As the alleged hackers have not been identified, the lawsuit is seeking permission to investigate and reveal their identities.
Grande is asking the court to order the defendants to hand over any stolen material and prevent further distribution.
She is also seeking a jury trial and damages.
The singer's representatives have declined to comment publicly on the lawsuit.
Bigger picture
Leaks have become an increasingly common problem across the music industry.
Artists including Taylor Swift, Playboi Carti and Lil Uzi Vert have all had unreleased material surface online in recent years.
In a 2024 interview discussing the leak of her song 'Fantasize', Grande described those responsible as "thieves".
"See you in jail," she warned.
